Ok, Dan, what does all that have to do with the title of this post? Oh, yeah, I rented a car while in Indiana from Ace Rent-A-Car. If you've never heard of Ace, well, you live under a rock. Nah, in all seriousness, they only have locations in the Indiana area. That said, they were courteous and professional, and transported me between their location and the Indianapolis Int'l Airport in a sweet Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van. Their prices were more than reasonable, too, and they weren't inordinately pushy regarding the unnecessary insurance options they offered.
Onto the car, now. . .
Whenever I would accompany my father to rental car counters in the past (something I did on several occasions), he would be offered a choice of two to three different vehicles, and usually none of the choices matched the specific model listed on the website. With that in mind, I debated internally which car I would select if offered the choice in the "midsize" class (with a couple exceptions, midsize in rental car terminology really equals compact in EPA terminology). My top choices would have been, in no particular order, the Chevy Cruze, the Ford Focus, the Hyundai Elantra, or the Honda Civic.
However, I was told that they had a Nissan Sentra for me. Surprisingly, there was no choice between that model and another one. Coincidentally, the Sentra was the car listed on their website when I booked the rental. It worked out ok, though, as the car did what I needed it to do just fine. I was surprised about a few things, though, and some of these surprises were of the pleasant variety.
I drove away from the rental car lot, parked after a few minutes, and fiddled with the tone controls on the stereo. Once I doped them out, I realized that the stereo sounded quite good for an econobox, non-name brand system. Bass was more earthy than in my Accord, and the clarity was definitely better-than-acceptable. Could this system rival the ELS surround system in a new Acura? Not a chance. For an OEM system, though, it was more than OK. My one ergonomic beef with the stereo (and actually with the entire car) was that the display screen was small, which made scrolling through song or album titles a bit of a tedious process.
After leaving the lot, I noticed a few other things. First, I noticed that the outside temperature gauge was showing triple digit temperatures. They stayed that way all weekend. I also noticed that the air conditioner (controlled by three simple knobs, each containing one button) generally had no trouble keeping up with such temperatures. I've been in cars with subpar air conditioners (Mazda comes to mind) so this was a nice surprise.
The car rode pleasantly enough, though larger bumps reminded me that, yes, I was driving a compact car (and one in its final years before a redesign). I don't know this for sure but I'd guess that the steering was electrically assisted, given the insanely low effort and the notable lack of road feel. Roadholding was OK for the most part but, again, it was obvious that this was a Sentra 2.0S and not the sportier SE-R Spec V model.
Lots of my driving was done at highway speeds, and at these speeds, the Sentra was impressively quiet for a compact car, and adequately quiet when compared to larger cars like my Accord. This, combined with the responsive cruise control, made this an easy car to drive on the highway.
That said, the seats were a bit disappointing. I like firm, supportive seats in my cars, and my Accord has the firmest seats I've sat in. These seats were quite soft, which was nice for my first five minutes in the car. After a while, though, they just didn't cut it. That, and after setting the driver's seat so I could drive comfortably, rear legroom all but vanished. My Accord can seat six footers one behind the other, comfortably.
Also disappointing was the drivetrain. The Sentra 2.0S, as suggested by its name, has a 2.0 liter inline-four engine. In the S model, this engine is mated to a CVT (continuously variable transmission). CVTs, unlike conventional automatic (or manual) transmissions, don't have a pre-set number of gear ratios. They utilize a belt and pulley system, and the pulleys change in diameter to continuously vary the ratio of engine speed to vehicle speed. These transmissions have replaced conventional automatics in most of Nissan's lineup, and are becoming increasingly common in other manufacturers' lineups (Subarus and front wheel drive Audis come to mind). Why? The EPA tends to rate CVT-driven cars' fuel economy higher than that of cars with normal (torque-converter) automatics. I wouldn't be surprised to see CVTs proliferate through more manufacturers' spec sheets in the future, and I have mixed feelings about this. As for how the CVT performed in the Sentra.....well, it was less annoying than I thought it'd be. It was still annoying though.
Because they don't have stepped gear ratios, CVTs eliminate most of the "shift-shock" experienced by people in manual or automatic transmission-equipped vehicles, which translates to a smoother ride when accelerating. However, CVTs tend to peg the engine's RPM at its power or torque peak until cruising speed is reached (depending on how much acceleration the driver's right foot demands). This results in an irritating, droning sound until the car reaches a set speed (at this point, the pulleys change diameter and the engine slows down to a couple thousand RPM). In a car with a torquey V6 engine, I could see a CVT being reasonable (the engine would have enough power that the transmission wouldn't constantly peg it at its redline). However, in a smaller car with a small four-banger (like the Sentra), there simply wasn't enough power (a) for quick bursts of acceleration or (b) for the engine's drone to not become annoying after a while. I had to floor the gas on several occasions to accelerate reasonably, and it was loud.
Lastly, I'd like to discuss several contradictions and curiosities I noticed in my time with the Sentra. So, in no particular order . . .
1. The headliner was made of a luxurious, woven material, but several other trim pieces were made of hard, unyielding plastic.
2. The car came with keyless entry, however not only did the keyfob lack a trunk button, but opening the trunk with the key if the doors were not first unlocked set off the car's alarm system.
3. The car looked to have two map lights by the rearview mirror, when in fact, it was really only a single light. Cost cutting, anyone?
4. The climate control knobs rotated with true, machined precision, but the turn signal stalk felt flimsy.
In summary, the Sentra worked just fine as a rental car. That said, I don't see myself buying one anytime soon. It's not because it's a bad car (it's not), but it strikes me as the budget-priced compact car that Buick never had in the 2000s. Here's why:
1. The seats were soft and initially comfortable, but support faded after a while. Sounds like Buick.
2. The A/C was easy to use, and was strong. Again, sounds like Buick (or any other American car).
3. While the CVT caused the engine to drone under my heavy right foot, it was smooth. That, and the more conservative acceleration habits of an older customer likely would keep the engine spinning at a reasonable enough speed so as not to be annoying.
4. The car was impressively quiet for its size. Again, like a Buick.
5. The ride was smooth, the car was very easy to drive, the handling wasn't even close to sporty, and the steering was effortlessly light and devoid of any road feel. Sounds like a Buick to me.
6. Fit-and-finish was hit or miss, and some materials left something to be desired. Buick all the way.
7. The car worked just fine as an appliance, but did nothing to ignite any passion. Oh so Buick.
By Buick, I'm referring to the brand before GM went bankrupt and re-organized itself. At that time (and before), the Sentra seemed quite competitive, while several GM products (particularly the Buicks) had gotten long-in-the-tooth. In 2012, however, Buick is putting out some great products (if I wrote that even two years ago, I'd be questioning my own sanity), and it's the Sentra that felt long-in-the-tooth. My, how the tables have turned.
No comments:
Post a Comment